Sep 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (59) walks back to the dugout after a visit to the mound against the Washington Nationals during the sixth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
The Phillies may not have wanted to hold their end of season press conferences two weeks before Halloween, but the baseball playoffs are a cruel world where all but one team is left answering questions sooner than they had hoped.
And yet, there was President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski and Manager Rob Thomson, holding court with the media for more than an hour combined trying to dissect what happened to the Phillies last week and looking ahead to the future of the organization.
But before any of those deeper dives took place, it started with a proclamation.
Not only would Thomson and all of his major league coaching staff be back again in 2025, but Thomson had his contract extended for another year through 2026.
"This is the only place I want to be." 😤
Rob Thomson on being extended through the 2026 season. pic.twitter.com/Fsa70w2tfP
So much for all the fan vitriol on talk radio and on social media, eh?
But the reality is, Thomson captains a good ship. Are there managerial decisions in game that you can make a valid argument were the wrong move? Sure. We can relitigate dozens of them if we want.
Hell, when I asked Thomson if looking back there were any managerial decisions he would like to do differently, he deadpanned, "Everything that went wrong, I would have liked to do differently."
But you can do that exercise with almost any manager in baseball.
The reality is, the Phillies have been very good team under Thomson. They have gotten consistently better in his three seasons at the helm, and finally won a Division title in 2024.
Yes, there have been diminishing returns in each of his seasons, but if we're being fair, the 2022 team went on a magical run. They weren't as good as either the 2023 or 2024 teams, so using that trip to the World Series as a starting point, anything less than a championship would be a failure.
And while there are criticisms that are fair with each season that results in a non-championship, firing the guy who has helmed that era of success is from its beginning after one real setback, would send the wrong message.
Not just to the city, but to the players. It would give them a scapegoat for them coming up small in the biggest games.
By adding a year onto his contract, it sends a different message to the players - this was all on you, and you owe us one.
Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski talking about why Rob Thomson’s entire coaching staff is being brought back.
Also, Thomson has been extended through 2026.@KYWNewsradio https://t.co/3pAnFc8YUv pic.twitter.com/bfX4XqltPM
The Phillies are holding their players accountable by not giving them a fall guy. It's why the entire coaching staff is back, too.
It was the right call at the right time by Dombrowski and John Middleton, who, of course, had to sign off on the decision.
It doesn't absolve any of the decision-makers of their mistakes - there were plenty - but it lays the blame at the feet of the people who deserve it most - the high-priced athletes in that clubhouse.
Here are seven other takeaways from the press conferences:
This will make the old school fans the happiest, but it sounds like the Phillies are seriously considering revamping the lineup to try to make it more consistently productive.
To do that, the possibility of moving Kyle Schwarber out of the leadoff spot exists.
It's not a certainty, and Thomson made it a point to say as much, but it's definitely on the table - all changes, even those not made, need to be considered.
The most important thing to making such a change would be to identify who would be a new leadoff hitter. Does that player even exist on the roster at the moment?
"I think it would be (someone) here," Thomson said. "Now, some people may have to change their approach a little bit, but again, I don't know if the best thing to do is to move Kyle out of the leadoff spot - because he's really good at it. But it may help protect other people.
The two names that were unsaid in that quote but are probably being implied are Trea Turner and Alec Bohm.
Turner would be a better option as a leadoff hitter if he wasn't such a free swinger and he wasn't trying to hit the ball in the air so much. If he can get back to a flat, lie drive swing and lay off pitches out of the zone, he can be that guy.
As for protecting guys - if you have a dangerous hitter like Schwarber batting behind Bohm, he probably gets better pitches to hit, and becomes a little more consistent, instead of having the ski mogul season he had - where he started at the top but then hit every bump on the way down.
Ultimately, this will come down to what additions, if any, the Phillies make, because those players or one singular player can change the whole dynamic as well.
But something's got to change, and although Schwarber is an excellent leadoff hitter, nothing should be off the table when it comes to getting i right for the Phillies.
While neither Dombrowski nor Thomson came out and said it, the need to upgrade their backup catcher seems to be on the list, which means we may have seen the last of Garrett Stubbs.
He's still arbitration eligible for the next two seasons, and he might still come to spring training, but the position seems unsettled.
When Thomson was asked about getting J.T. Realmuto more rest, he admitted that he has to talk to his starting catcher about that because Realmuto has been a staunch self-advocate to play as much as he does.
But in order to make a plan to rest and preserve Realmuto a bit more come to fruition, the Phillies are going to need a little more offensive production than what Stubbs provides.
"I've got to talk to J.T. about that first of all," Thomson said. "We'll put a plan together and whoever that backup is, we don't know yet, but we'll put a plan together because I think if you give J.T. some more time off, I think his numbers will get better."
Dombrowski basically echoed that sentiment and gave a tepid endorsement to Rafael Marchan.
"We like Marchan a lot," he said. "We think he's a real good catcher and h's shown some offensive prowess. Also, he's out of options next year."
That's usually a sure sign that the guy has a leg up over competition.
But don't read that as he has a job waiting for him - because he doesn't. The Phillies are committed to four starters for next season - Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez - and they expect uber-prospect Andrew Painter to join them at some point, albeit on some sort of innings limit.
Dombrowski did say that adding someone to that spot is part of the offseason to-do list as well.
So, Walker would have to come in and win a spot. The Phillies are putting him on a very specific offseason program designed to increase his velocity and sharpen his command. From there, it's all on Walker to try and stay with the team.
Thing is, there may not be a path for him to do so. Maybe the Phillies are hoping to see some improvement in February and March, and that a pitching-needy team will also see it and be willing to take him on their roster.
Dombrowski essentially just said 'Taijuan Walker blows, and we're moving on. We also don't like Rojas anymore.' I'm paraphrasing, it's course. #Phillies
Or maybe he continues to flame out and the Phillies have to consider him a sunk cost.
Either way, it's a soap opera with another episode or two left before it gets taken off the air.
Dombrowski all but committed to Nick Castellanos being back and said the team still believes in Brandon Marsh because of his improvements in the final month of the season.
That might be a stretch but let's go with it.
Still, for the second straight year, it sounds like they aren't committed to Johan Rojas as the centerfielder, nor should they be.
Rojas can't hit. He can't bunt. He sometimes gets a little braindead on the bases and for all of the great plays he makes in centerfield, his defensive metrics took a big step backwards in 2024.
Both Dombrowski and Thomson had good things to say about him, and talked about his offseason program as well - Rojas is going to move to Clearwater for the winter and work heavily on his hitting approach- but neither the president nor the manager were willing to say he would be back as the starting centerfielder.
Maybe as the No. 5 guy? O.K., fine. But he can't be the starter. The Phillies know that - it was a mistake to rely on him in 2024 - and they can't go into another new season with him as the centerfield starter.
As for left field, Marsh is still in play, but can you really trust him against lefties? Austin Hays was supposed to be better, and the Phillies seemed to swing and miss there, so much so that Dombrowski wouldn't commit to Hays being back next season despite being arbitration eligible for another year.
That's pretty damning.
There are only three Phillies who are free agents - all pitchers. Jeff Hoffman, Carlos Estevez and Spencer Turnbull.
It's a good bet that Turnbull won't be back, but as for the other two - the Phillies are likely only going to keep one, according to Dombrowski.
"We like them both, but it's hard for me to imagine that you end up bringing both of them back under the circumstances," Dombrowski said. "I would gather they're both going to be offered long-term, big dollar contracts, which they're going to be looking for. I don't see us spending that type of money on two relievers in our bullpen."
If they only bring one back, who is more likely? Well, Hoffman, of course. They see him as a more versatile reliever who can come into a dirty inning and get out of it, who can start a clean inning as a setup man and even close.
Yes, the playoff blowup wasn't the greatest, but the Phillies won't let a couple of October appearances undo all the good Hoffman did in the regular season.
The only thing is, how important is he? If another team is willing to vastly overpay, would the Phillies let him walk?
It's clear as day that Trea Turner is a subpar shortstop defensively. What may not be as clear because we mostly tend not to watch games that don't involve the Phillies, is Turner was like this both in Washington and Los Angeles.
The Nationals tried him in centerfield before settling on him at second base. The Dodgers shifted him from shortstop to second.
The Phillies are stubbornly going to keep him at short.
Despite Declining Defensive Metrics, Trea Turner Will Remain at Shortstop for Phillies - @OnPattison https://t.co/UqpnkPQXn9
Their feeling is he makes up for his deficiencies in the field with his bat. And while that's mostly true, Turner has been below expectations offensively in Phillies tenure so far. He's not been bad, by any means, but he's also not putting together offensive seasons like he did in his previous stops, and he's getting older.
It's a conundrum that the Phillies know exists, but rather than address it now, they seem poised to wait until a young prospect like Aidan Miller or Starlyn Caba are ready to play in the majors.
It seems insane to continue to stay the course after failing with much of this core for three straight playoffs, but then again, they've been in the postseason three straight seasons - not many teams can say that.
So, there is something to be said for the talent in the clubhouse.
However, there was one little nugget that Dombrowski dropped at the end of an answer about his roster construction.
"We have a lot of good players, right? I think we have to be open-minded to exploring what's out there for us, talk to some clubs and see what ends up happening," Dombrowski said. "That process hasn't started yet (but) sometimes you trade good players for good players."
Sounds like the Phillies may not be as set as Dombrowski laid it out on Tuesday. Which brings us to the final takeaway.
With the Phillies already having seven players who signed contract worth north of $100 million, you wouldn't think they'd be in the market for another superstar player.
After all, there is always a budget.
But you should never count them out because John Middleton wants his fucking trophy back and will do anything to get it.
Dave Dombrowski believes the #Phillies are a good club full of stars, but he said you’re always open-minded to making adjustments.
He was also asked if they need to add another star player.@KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/eK0pJr6QC4
"I don't think that the answer is always a star player," Dombrowski said. "I'm not saying we won't get one, but I don't think it's a necessity by any means."
Doesn't exactly sound like he's poo-pooing the pursuit of a star player.
After all, the Phillies need an outfielder, and there's a generational talent hitting the free agent market in a month.
Might the Phillies quietly pursue Juan Soto?
They certainly wouldn't be favorites over the Yankees or the Mets, but they were a finalist last off season for Yoshinobu Yamamoto when they were never expected to be a player in that chase.
Could they potentially find a way to make it work?
They have the perfect pitch. They have several of Soto's former Washington teammates. They kept Soto's favorite hitting coach Kevin Long employed for at least one more season.
To those who are frustrated with the lack of coaching changes (keeping Thomson is the right choice):
The consistency at coaching is something free agents look at. They don't want to see reactionary moves. Despite how much I disagree with keeping the entire staff, they know more…
All of that adds up to the Phillies giving it a real try. Doesn't mean they'll get him, but if you think the Phillies are going to be idle on that front, you don't know Middleton or Dombrowski.
